The fact that anyone showed up to Friday night's Hanover football game is a sign of progress, said Tommy Sharon, a Hanover resident.

The conditions were less than ideal for week five of the YAIAA football season. When Hanover kicked off with York Catholic at 6 p.m., it was around 45 degrees, windy and raining.

Still, fans filed in; with ponchos, umbrellas, blankets and whatever else it took to stay warm.

"There's something neat going on here," said Sharon, who showed up to the game alone because the rest of his family didn't want to sit in the weather. " The team, they play hard. They have a lot of seniors and look like they're ready to win now."

;A hard-nosed defense and lethal passing attack has fans excited for one of the best teams in the York-Adams area.

After Friday night's 20-13 win that kept Hanover undefeated, the Nighthawks now have more wins in 2015 (5) than they did in the past four years combined (4). It is believed to be the team's first 5-0 start in at least three decades.

"They're a good group of kids, and to see them succeed is good," said Christy Hill, who was watching her son Brent Hill on the field. Christy was joined with her husband, Brad, and daughter Bradi, a 2013 Hanover High School graduate, for the game.

Bradi, geared with an umbrella and poncho to guard from the downpour prior to the game, said she knew that students were getting more excited for Hanover football when the fans traveled well to a game at Bermudian Springs High School last week.

That's a 180 from the way things were when she was a student. "They lost a lot so nobody really cared about it," she said. "I feel like not as many people came to the games back then."

There's a real buzz at Hanover now because of the hot start the Nighthawks are off to, said Alan Carmona, a junior at Hanover High School. "You can't even call it luck anymore. We've won four games in a row, four different schools, four different experiences and we've won all of them,"

Carmona said before the game.

Alongside Carmona was junior Isaac Silver, dressed in an all-orange body suit to match Hanover's school colors. Isaac led the student section in an "I believe that we will win" chant before the game started.

"For most games, our student section goes the whole way up now," Silver said. "We've always had good support in the past, but this year has been even crazier."

The fact that students even showed up despite the weather proves that the crazy is back, Silver said.

;A blocked punt that resulted in a Hanover touchdown brought screams of joy and high fives from the crowd. When Hanover intercepted a pass late in the fourth quarter to seal the win, a student ran up and down the length of the bleachers to celebrate.

The fact that students are embracing a team off to one of its best starts in school history is the difference. The buzz is back.

"It's been absolutely insane. Students at Hanover High School have been waiting for a team like this to break out and it's finally happening. There are so many seniors on this team, they deserve it, and we couldn't be more happy for them," Silver said.